Blood bag system and cassette

ABSTRACT

In a blood bag system mounted in a centrifugation and separation apparatus, a filter is settable in different appropriate orientations at storage time and usage time, and first and second tubes and a filter are arranged respectively in appropriate orientations during use. The blood bag system includes a BC pooling bag for centrifugation of buffy coat, the filter for removing white blood cells from a supernatant liquid transferred from the BC pooling bag, a platelet preserving bag for reserving the supernatant liquid that has passed through the filter, the first tube connecting the BC pooling bag and an inlet of the filter, the second tube connecting the platelet preserving bag and an outlet of the filter, a cassette fixable in the centrifugation and separation apparatus, an attachment for holding the filter, and a hinge section tiltable relative to the cassette with reference to an axis in the circumferential direction.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a blood bag system and a cassette to bemounted in a centrifugation and separation apparatus or the like, forcentrifuging whole blood or a blood component (buffy coat or the like)prepared from whole blood into a supernatant liquid and a sedimentaryliquid and transferring the supernatant liquid.

BACKGROUND ART

Hitherto, whole blood transfusion in which all the components of bloodobtained by blood donation are subjected to transfusion has been themainstream of blood transfusion. Attendant on the recent progress oftechnologies, however, blood component transfusion has come to beconducted in which the obtained blood is divided into blood components,such as red blood cells, platelets and plasma, and only the bloodcomponent needed by a patient is subjected to transfusion. With bloodcomponent transfusion, it is possible to alleviate the burden on thepatient's circulatory system and other side effects, and effectiveutilization of the donated blood is promised.

When subjected to centrifugation, the donated blood is divided into alight supernatant PRP fraction, a heavy sedimentary CRC fraction, and abuffy coat (BC) formed therebetween. The buffy coat contains white bloodcells, platelets and red blood cells, and in particular, the plateletsinclude young active platelets in high proportion.

On the other hand, the buffy coat contains white blood cells andtherefore cannot be utilized as is. In view of this, it is a commonpractice to extract only the buffy coat from the centrifuged blood, tosubject it again to centrifugation so as to separate the buffy coat intoa supernatant liquid and a sedimentary liquid, and further to removewhite blood cells from a supernatant liquid by a white blood cellremoving filter (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[Patent Document 1]

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 07-507717 (PCT) (WO93/25295A1)

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In order to centrifuge a buffy coat into a supernatant liquid and asedimentary liquid and to transfer the supernatant liquid as mentionedabove, it is necessary to perform centrifugation in a former step and toseparate (transfer) in a latter step. Accordingly, two special purposeapparatuses are needed therefor, with troublesome operations.

It is preferable that a centrifugation and separation apparatus, whichis capable of simultaneously carrying out the two steps, is put topractical use. As such a centrifugation and separation apparatus, acentrifugation means and a separation means (transfer means) may beprovided, so that a desired treatment will be carried out by use of apredetermined disposable blood bag system. As for such a blood bagsystem to be used in the centrifugation and separation apparatus, ingeneral, the following configuration may be considered. The systemincludes a first bag in which the buffy coat is reserved and in whichthe buffy coat is centrifuged into a supernatant liquid and asedimentary liquid, a filter for removing white blood cells from thesupernatant liquid transferred by pressing the first bag by apredetermined pressing means, a second bag for reserving the supernatantliquid deprived of the white blood cells by the filter, a first tube forconnecting the first bag and an inlet of the filter, a second tube forconnecting the second bag and an outlet of the filter, and a first clampand a second clamp for closing and opening the first tube and the secondtube.

In order to mount such a blood bag system in a centrifugation andseparation apparatus, however, the first bag, the second bag and thefilter must be disposed in appropriate positions, and the first tube,the second tube, the first clamp and the second clamp must be disposedalong appropriate paths. This leads to a complicated procedure as wellas a fear of mismounting.

In addition, the filter is preferably disposed in a proper orientation,in order to assuredly remove predetermined cells such as white bloodcells.

Furthermore, in order that the blood bag system, which has beensterilized during production thereof, is maintained in a sterilizedstate, the blood bag system is assumed to be kept packaged in a hermeticbag during the period from manufacture to use. The packaged blood bagsystem is desirably as small as possible in volume during storage.

The present invention has been made in consideration of theabove-mentioned problems. Accordingly, it is an object of the inventionto provide a blood bag system and a cassette therefore, wherein a filtercan be set in different appropriate orientations at a time of storageand at a time of use, and further wherein a first tube, a second tubeand the filter can respectively be disposed in appropriate orientationsat the time of use.

According to the present invention, there is provided a blood bag systemincluding a first bag for reserving whole blood or a blood component, afilter having a filter medium for removing predetermined cells from ablood component obtained by centrifugation of the liquid contained inthe first bag, a second bag for reserving a blood component obtainedupon removal of the predetermined cells by the filter, a first tube forconnecting the first bag and an inlet of the filter, a second tube forconnecting the second bag and an outlet of the filter, and a cassettehaving a plate section for holding a part of the first tube and a partof the second tube, wherein the cassette includes an attachment forholding the filter, and a hinge section by which the attachment isconnected to the plate section in a tiltable manner.

According to the present invention, there also is provided a cassettemounted to a multiple bag including a first bag for reserving wholeblood or a blood component, a filter having a filter medium for removingpredetermined cells from a blood component obtained by centrifugation ofthe liquid contained in the first bag, a second bag for reserving ablood component obtained upon removal of the predetermined cells by thefilter, a first tube for connecting the first bag and an inlet of thefilter, and a second tube for connecting the second bag and an outlet ofthe filter, wherein the cassette holds a part of the first tube and apart of the second tube, and includes an attachment for holding thefilter, and a hinge section by which the attachment is connected to theplate section in a tiltable manner.

With the tiltable hinge section thus provided, the attachment and thefilter can be set in different appropriate orientations at the time ofstorage and at the time of use. In addition, since the first tube andthe second tube are preliminarily arranged properly in the cassette ofthe blood bag system, it is sufficient to mount the cassette in apredetermined portion of a centrifugation and separation apparatus.Therefore, there is no need for intricate laying and arrangement of thefirst and second tubes, and mounting can be performed easily andassuredly.

The hinge section may be configured to be tiltable so as to assumevarious states, including an expanded state in which the attachment orthe filter is located substantially in the same plane as the platesection, and a bent state in which the attachment or the filter istilted substantially perpendicular to the plate section. This ensuresthat the cassette and the plate section reside substantially in the sameplane in the expanded state, so that the cassette and the plate sectioncan be sufficiently thin during storage, and can be folded into a thinform together with the first bag, the second bag, and the like. Inaddition, in the bent state, the filter can be disposed in anappropriate orientation bent at 90°, while kept in a predetermined stateof being mounted to the plate section of the cassette.

The hinge section may have a stopper, by which the tilting angle of theattachment or the filter relative to the plate section is restrictedsubstantially to a right angle. With such a stopper, the filter can beset at a more appropriate angle.

The filter may be provided with an inlet on the first surface side atone end thereof, and an outlet on the second surface side at the otherend thereof. The attachment may hold the filter such that, in the bentstate, the inlet is located on the outer side, whereas the outlet islocated on the inner side. This enables the filter to be used in aproper orientation.

The attachment may have a first fitting portion in which the inlet ofthe filter is fitted, and a second fitting portion in which the outletof the filter is fitted, wherein the first fitting portion is located onthe outer side relative to the second fitting portion in the bent state.When the aforementioned first fitting portion and the second fittingportion are provided, misassembly of the filter onto the attachment isprevented from occurring.

The attachment may hold the filter such that the outlet of the filter isdisposed on a proximal side relative to the hinge portion, whereas theinlet of the filter is disposed on a distal side relative to the hingeportion. This ensures that the filter can be used in a properorientation.

The cassette may have an arch section for forming a bag hole in whichthe first bag is inserted on the outer side relative to the platesection, wherein the hinge section is disposed at the arch section. Whensuch an arch section is provided, it is possible to arrange theattachment and the filter on the outer side, and to arrange the firstbag on the inner side. In the centrifugation and separation apparatus,the first bag is pressed by a pressing means during a separation stepthat takes place after a centrifugation step. In view of this,arrangement of the first bag on the inner side is preferable.

It is preferable that whole blood or a blood component collected from aplurality of donors is reserved in the first bag, wherein the blood bagsystem is mounted in a centrifugation and separation apparatus forcentrifuging the liquid contained in the first bag into a supernatantliquid and a sedimentary liquid, removing a predetermined component fromthe supernatant liquid by the filter, and then transferring thesupernatant liquid, deprived of the predetermined component, into thesecond bag.

A configuration may be adopted in which the centrifugation andseparation apparatus includes a first sensor and a second sensor, eachof which has a light emitting section and a light receiving section, andwhich detect the kind of liquid passing between the light emittingsection and the light receiving section, the cassette has a sensor holein which the first sensor and the second sensor are inserted, and thefirst tube is located so as to pass between the light emitting sectionand the light receiving section of the first sensor, whereas the secondtube is located so as to pass between the light emitting section and thelight receiving section of the second sensor. This makes it possible toassuredly detect the liquids present in the first tube and the secondtube.

According to the blood bag system and the cassette pertaining to thepresent invention, the tiltable hinge section is provided, which ensuresthat the attachment and the filter can be set in different appropriateorientations at the time of storage and at the time of use. In addition,the first tube and the second tube are preliminarily arranged properlyin the cassette of the blood bag system, so that it is sufficient tomount the cassette in a predetermined portion of a centrifugation andseparation apparatus or the like. Therefore, there is no need forintricate laying and arrangement of the first and second tubes, andmounting thereof can be carried out easily and assuredly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a centrifugation and separationapparatus;

FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged perspective view of a centrifugal drum inthe centrifugation and separation apparatus;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an insert unit;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a blood bag system according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a multiple bag system;

FIG. 6 is a partial enlarged plan view of the blood bag system accordingto the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the blood bag systemaccording to the first embodiment, in a condition where a filter holderis expanded;

FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the blood bag systemaccording to the first embodiment, in a condition where the filterholder is bent at 90°;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a sensor hole in acassette;

FIG. 10A is a plan view of a first clamp in an initial state, FIG. 10Bis a plan view of the first clamp in a closed state, and FIG. 10C is aplan view of the first clamp during a returning motion thereof;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a hinge section and a tube engagingsection of the cassette;

FIG. 12 is a partial enlarged side view of the blood bag systemaccording to the first embodiment, in a condition where the filterholder is expanded (spread);

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a filter and a holder body;

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of actions carried out in thecentrifugation and separation apparatus;

FIG. 15 is a partial enlarged plan view of a blood bag system accordingto a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the blood bag systemaccording to the second embodiment, in a condition where the filterholder is not bent;

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a first clamp operating section; and

FIG. 18 is a partial enlarged plan view of a blood bag system accordingto a third embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A blood bag system and the cassette according to the present inventionwill be described below, in which embodiments thereof are shown anddescribed with reference to the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 18.

Blood bag systems 10 a, 10 b, 10 c and cassettes 50 a, 50 b, 50 caccording to first to third embodiments are respectively mounted in acentrifugation and separation apparatus 11 for centrifuging whole bloodor a blood component (hereinafter, referred to as a buffy coat in thefollowing embodiments) prepared from whole blood into a supernatantliquid and a sedimentary liquid, and for transferring the supernatantliquid. First, the centrifugation and separation apparatus 11 will bedescribed. In the following description, the direction of arrow A inFIG. 2 will be taken as a radial direction, and the direction of arrow Bwill be taken as a circumferential direction. Strictly speaking, thecircumferential direction is the direction along the circular arc, asindicated by arrow B. For convenience of description, however, adirection orthogonal to the arrow A in the location being described willalso be referred to as the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the centrifugation and separation apparatus 11 has abox-like shape, and includes a top cover 12 which can be opened andclosed, a centrifugal drum (centrifugation means) 14 inside theapparatus, six unit insertion holes 16 arranged at regular angularintervals (60°) inside the centrifugal drum 14, six insert units 18inserted respectively in the unit insertion holes 16, and six pressers(pressing means) 20 (see FIG. 2), which are provided in a central areaand which can be advanced and retracted in a rotational radial directionin relation to the insert units 18.

The centrifugation and separation apparatus 11 is operated based onoperations performed at a console section 22 provided at the front ofthe apparatus. Further, the centrifugation and separation apparatus 11is controlled by a microcomputer (not shown) and can displaypredetermined information on a monitor 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, a central body 14 a of the central drum 14 has aholding lever 25, which is urged by an elastic body and which holds anend portion of a cassette holder 38, electrodes 27, first rods 136 andsecond rods 138, and a presser 20. The first rods 136 and the secondrods 138 are provided in two pairs, wherein among these rods, the rodson the first circumferential direction B1 side constitute a first clampdriving means 17 a for closing and opening a first clamp section 106(see FIG. 3), and the rods on the second circumferential direction B2side constitute a second clamp driving means 17 b for closing andopening a second clamp section 108 (see FIG. 3). The section shown inFIG. 2 may be configured as a single unit, and six such units may becombined with each other along the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the insert unit 18 has a unit body 26, a cover body28, and the blood bag system 10 a. The unit body 26 is a bottomed tube,which has a wide circular arc shape in top plan view and is open at thetop, wherein a small chamber (first chamber) 30 on the inner diameterside and a large chamber (second chamber) 32 are partitioned from eachother by an arcuate wall 34. A buffy coat pooling bag (first bag) 54 tobe described later is disposed within the small chamber 30, while aplatelet preserving bag (second bag) 58 and a sampling bag 76 aredisposed within the large chamber 32. The platelet preserving bag 58 hasa surface area, which is enlarged for securing appropriate oxygenpermeability for the platelets reserved therein, and which is set to belarger than the buffy coat pooling bag 54.

The buffy coat pooling bag (BC pooling bag) 54, the platelet reservingbag 58 and the sampling bag 76 are each formed, for example, by a methodin which flexible sheet members made of a flexible resin such aspolyvinyl chloride and polyolefin are laid on each other, and sealportions at the peripheral edges thereof are joined by fusing (heatfusing, high-frequency fusing) or adhesion in order to obtain abag-formed body.

The small chamber 30 opens not only at the top but also on the innerdiameter side. A filter pocket 36 for holding a filter 56 and anattachment 142, which will be described later, are provided on the outerdiameter side of the wall 34. A plate-like cassette holder 38 thatprojects to the inner diameter side is provided at both end portions onthe inner diameter side of the small chamber 30.

The cassette holder 38 includes a first sensor 40 and a second sensor 42for detecting the kinds of liquids that pass inside a first tube 60 anda second tube 62, both to be described later, as well as detachinglevers 44 and holder projections 45 provided on both ends in thecircumferential direction. The first sensor 40 and the second sensor 42include light emitting sections 40 a, 42 a (see FIG. 9) and lightreceiving sections 40 b, 42 b (see FIG. 9), wherein the kind of liquidpassing between these sections can be determined based on the degree oftransmission of light through the liquid. The light emitting sections 40a, 42 a and the light receiving sections 40 b, 42 b are arranged inparallel with each other, and project slightly upwards at the topsurface of the cassette holder 38. A plurality of contacts (not shown)for connection to the first sensor 40 and the second sensor 42, or tointerface circuits thereof, are provided at a lower surface of thecassette holder 38. When the contacts are placed in contact with thereception-side electrodes 27 (see FIG. 2) provided on the central body14 a of the centrifugal drum 14, signals from the first sensor 40 andthe second sensor 42 can be supplied to the microcomputer.

The cover body 28 includes a cover, which is mounted to the unit body 26from an outer lateral side thereof. The cover body 28 is capable ofcovering an outer lateral surface, an upper surface and a lower surfaceof the unit body 26, and can securely hold the blood bag system 10 amounted on the unit body 26.

Next, the blood bag system 10 a and the cassette 50 a according to thefirst embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 4, the bloodbag system 10 a comprises a multiple bag 52 and a cassette 50 a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the multiple bag 52 includes the BC pooling bag 54in which a buffy coat (blood component) is reserved and in which thebuffy coat is centrifuged into a supernatant liquid (blood component)and a sedimentary liquid by the centrifugal drum 14, a filter 56 forremoving white blood cells (predetermined cells) from the supernatantliquid transferred by pressing the BC pooling bag 54 by the presser 20,the platelet reserving bag 58 for reserving the supernatant liquidobtained upon removal of white blood cells by the filter 56, a firsttube 60 for connecting the BC pooling bag 54 and an inlet 56 a of thefilter 56, and a second tube 62 for connecting the platelet reservingbag 58 and an outlet 56 b of the filter 56. The filter 56 preferably isprovided with a mark thereon, which is indicative of the blood flowdirection.

The filter 56 (see FIG. 13) has a roughly elliptical thin plate-likeshape, with the inlet 56 a provided on a first surface side at one endthereof, and the outlet 56 b provided on a second surface side at theother end thereof. Each of the inlet 56 a and the outlet 56 b comprisesa tubular body, which is elongated in the same direction as thelongitudinal direction of the filter 56. Inside the filter 56, a planarfilter medium 57 (see FIG. 14) is provided, for partitioning the insideinto a first surface side and a second surface side, respectively.

The multiple bag 52 further includes a third tube 70 having an endportion to which a container 68 for a platelet preserving liquid can beconnected, and having the other end thereof connected to the BC poolingbag 54, a branched tube 74 which is branched (into six branches, forexample, formed through bifurcation and trifurcation) from the thirdtube 70 and to which a plurality of BC bags 72 can be connected, thesampling bag 76 for sampling the liquid contained in the plateletpreserving bag 58, a fourth tube 78 for interconnecting the plateletpreserving bag 58 and the sampling bag 76, and a sampling tube 80 thatbranches from the fourth tube 78. When the blood bag system 10 a ismounted in the centrifugation and separation apparatus 11, the thirdtube 70 is cut after fusing thereof to prevent leakage at a locationnear the BC pooling bag 54. The portion left upon cutting forms a thirdtube 70 a (see FIG. 7).

The multiple bag 52 includes a clamp 82 provided in the vicinity of anend portion of the third tube 70, a clamp 84 provided on the tip siderelative to the branching portion of the third tube 70, a clamp 86provided in the vicinity of an end portion of the fourth tube 78, and aclamp 88 provided for the sampling tube 80. Each of the tubes in theblood bag system 10 a is a transparent flexible resin tube.

The clamp 82, 84, 86, 88 are standard products, which have hitherto beenused, and the tubes onto which they are mounted can be closed and openedby operating the clamp 82, 84, 86, 88 with one's fingers. It isrecommendable to provide the clamp 82, 84, 86, 88 with different colorsaccording to the position and/or the purpose of use thereof. At times ofsterilization and storage of the blood bag system 10 a, each of theclamp 82, 84, 86, 88 is in an opened state, so that the inside of themultiple bag 52 is in a mutually connected and uniformly sterilizedstate.

Each of end portions of the third tube 70, the branched tube 74, and thesampling tube 80 is closed by a predetermined means, and is placed in asterilized state obtained by being subjected to a predeterminedsterilizing treatment (for example, irradiation with γ-rays) togetherwith the cassette 50 a.

Incidentally, although for convenience of illustration it is shown inFIG. 5 that the BC bag 72 and the container 68 can be connected to themultiple bag 52 lacking the cassette 50 a, in practice the BC bag 72 andthe container 68 are connected in a condition where the cassette 50 a isprovided as the blood bag system 10 a (see FIG. 4), as will be describedlater.

Returning to FIG. 4, the blood bag system 10 a includes the multiple bag52 and the cassette 50 a. The cassette 50 a is fitted with the firsttube 60 and the second tube 62.

As shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the cassette 50 a includes a plate section100 to be mounted to the cassette holder 38, an arch section 102 forinterconnecting both end portions on the outer side of the plate section100, and a filter holder 104 connected to a central portion on theoutermost diameter side of the arch section 102. The material of thecassette 50 a, for example, is PP (polypropylene), POM(polyoxymethylene), or the like.

The arch section 102 is shaped along the top end of the wall 34, and thespace surrounded by the outer end surface of the plate section 100 andthe arch section 102 has the same shape as the upper surface portion ofthe small chamber 30, thereby forming a bag hole 105 in which to insertthe BC pooling bag 54. A portion of the whole length part of the archsection 102 may be provided with an angled structure so as to enhancestrength.

The plate section 100 includes the first clamp section 106 and thesecond clamp section 108 provided on the inner diameter side by integralmolding, a sensor hole 110 which is provided at a roughly centralportion and in which the first sensor 40 and the second sensor 42 areinserted, a first guide passage 112 for guiding the first tube 60, asecond guide passage 114 for guiding the second tube 62, an auxiliaryfixing section 116 for fixing the short third tube 70 a, and two pins(holding sections) 118 provided at an outer end portion.

The two pins 118 have an appropriate enlarged-tip shape, and areinserted in end holes of the BC pooling bag 54, thereby fixing the endportions of the BC pooling bag 54. The BC pooling bag 54 has an endportion fixed by the pins 118, and a body portion inserted into the baghole 105. Each of the pins 118 may have a tip portion split in two, soas to form a narrow slit. Therefore, at the time of fixing the BCpooling bag 54, the pins 118 can be inserted in the end holes byreducing the diameter thereof in a manner of narrowing the slit and,after insertion, the pins 118 can be returned to their initial state, soas to produce a slip-off preventive effect.

The auxiliary fixing section 116 is formed by walls making light contactwith both side surfaces of the third tube 70 a, and is shaped so as tobend in the direction of an outer diameter thereof, after guiding thethird tube 70 a in an appropriate amount in the first circumferentialdirection B1, from an inner diameter side end portion of the BC poolingbag 54. This ensures that, on the third tube 70 a, only a sufficientlyshort tip portion protrudes from the plate section 100 (see FIGS. 7 and8), and the direction of protrusion is outwards (namely, in thecentrifugal direction A1), so that the third tube 70 a is not vibratedor moved during centrifugation.

The first guide passage 112 and the second guide passage 114 each has agroove shape, which is formed by walls provided on both sidessubstantially over the whole length thereof, and which is open on theupper side. The first guide passage 112 and the second guide passage 114are provided with small slip-off preventive projections 117 at the openupper end portions thereof.

The first guide passage 112 extends in the direction of the innerdiameter from an end portion of the BC pooling bag 54, passes throughthe sensor hole 110, is bent in the first circumferential direction B1in the vicinity of an inner diameter side end surface, immediatelythereafter passes through the first clamp section 106, is bent in thedirection of the outer diameter in the vicinity of an end portion in thefirst circumferential direction B1, and reaches an outer diameter end ofthe plate section 100, where the first guide passage 112 bends inwardsso as to point toward the filter holder 104.

The second guide passage 114 extends in the direction of the innerdiameter from the sensor hole 110, is bent in the second circumferentialdirection B2 in the vicinity of an inner diameter side end surface,immediately thereafter passes through the second clamp section 108, isbent in the direction of the outer diameter in the vicinity of an endportion in the second circumferential direction B2, and thereafter isbent toward a skew lateral side.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the sensor hole 110, the first tube 60 and thesecond tube 62 each have upper surfaces thereof fixed stably by two arms120 having tips bent slightly downwards, and extend respectively in theradial direction. The first tube 60 and the second tube 62 are arrangedin parallel in the circumferential direction, in such a manner that gapsare secured at both side surfaces in the circumferential direction ofthe sensor hole 110, and another gap is secured between the first tube60 and the second tube 62. When the cassette 50 a is mounted on thecassette holder 38, the first sensor 40 and the second sensor 42 areinserted into the gaps in the sensor hole 110, the first tube 60 isdisposed between the light emitting section 40 a and the light receivingsection 40 b, and the second tube 62 is disposed between the lightemitting section 42 a and the light receiving section 42 b. The lightreceiving section 40 b and the light receiving section 42 b are formedintegrally. The first tube 60 and the second tube 62 are held by thefour arms 120, so as to remain stable irrespective of the orientation ofthe cassette 50 a. The gap in the circumferential direction between thetwo arms 120, which are opposed to each other in the circumferentialdirection, is formed narrowly to such an extent that the first tube 60and the second tube 62 can pass through the gap in a pressed-down state.As is apparent from FIGS. 7 and 9, the first clamp section 106 and thesecond clamp section 108 are disposed in the vicinity of the sensor hole110, and are provided on the downstream side of the first sensor 40 andthe second sensor 42.

As shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, the first clamp section 106 has a closingsection (pressing section) 122, which is provided as part of the firstguide passage 112 at a portion on the first circumferential direction B1side of an inner circumferential end of the plate section 100 and whichcloses the first tube 60, a latch section 124 for holding the closingsection 122 during closure thereof, and a triangular projection 126provided on a surface on an opposite side from the closing section 122.

The closing section 122 has a bulge portion (pressing portion) 128 forpressing the first tube 60 from a lateral side thereof, and anacute-angular engaged portion 130 provided at the tip of the bulgeportion 128. A base portion of the closing section 122 is formedsufficiently small in diameter, so that the bulge portion 128 can beelastically advanced and retracted substantially in the radialdirection. The latch section 124 has an engaging portion 132 forengagement with the engaged portion 130 of the bulge section 128 in astate of pressing the first tube 60, and an inclined surface 134 formedat the tip thereof. A direction perpendicular to the inclined surface134 is oriented toward a skew inner side. Due to the presence of theinclined surface 134, the latch section 124 has a tapered shape whenviewed in plan. The latch section 124 is formed with a sufficientlysmall diameter at the base portion thereof, and can be elasticallytilted.

The first clamp section 106 is thus configured simply. In addition, thefirst clamp section 106 is formed by integral molding with the cassette50 a, so that it is unnecessary to provide the clamp as an independentcomponent part, and a reduction in the number of component parts can beachieved.

As shown in FIG. 10A, in the initial condition of the first clampsection 106, the bulge portion 128 of the closing section 122 isseparated from the first tube 60, whereby the first tube 60 is placed ina conducting state.

As shown in FIG. 10B, when the first rod 136 of the central body 14 a isextended to press the closing section 122 from a lateral side and todisplace the closing section 122, the bulge portion 128 presses down thefirst tube 60 in cooperation with the projection 126, so as to close thefirst tube 60. In this instance, the engaged portion 130 engages withthe engaging portion 132 by slightly tilting the latch section 124.Thereafter, the closed state of the first tube 60 by the bulge portion128 is maintained, even after the first rod 136 returns to its originalposition.

As shown in FIG. 10C, when the second rod 138 is extended, the tipsurface thereof slides on the inclined surface 134 and pushes outwardlytoward a lateral side, and the latch section 124 is tilted, whereby theengaging portion 132 becomes disengaged from the engaged portion 130,and the engaged state is released. Therefore, when the second rod 138contracts to its original position, the first clamp section 106 isreturned to the initial state shown in FIG. 10A, and the first tube 60is again placed in a conducting state.

Since the second clamp section 108 is symmetrical with the first clampsection 106, detailed description thereof is omitted. By means of thesecond clamp section 108, the second tube 62 can be closed and opened.When the blood bag system 10 a is mounted on the centrifugation andseparation apparatus 11, the first clamp section 106 and the secondclamp section 108 are operated by the first clamp driving means 17 a andthe second clamp driving means 17 b of the central body 14 a (see FIG.2). When the blood bag system 10 a is not mounted, the first clampsection 106 and the second clamp section 108 can be operated manually.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the filter holder 104 has a hinge section140, an attachment 142, and a tube engaging section 144.

As shown in FIG. 11, the hinge section 140 is basically composed of apair of ear pieces 146 opposed to each other in the circumferentialdirection, and a vertical wall (stopper) 148 provided on the base endside. A thin projection 150 projects in the direction of the outerdiameter from the lower end of the vertical wall 148. The vertical wall148 enables the filter 56 to be set at a more accurate angle.

The pair of ear pieces 146 are provided on inner sides thereof with apair of round shafts 152 that face toward each other above theprojection 150, a pair of small upper stoppers 154 provided at upper endportions on the outer diameter side, and a pair of small ride-overprojections 156 provided at lower portions. As is apparent from FIG. 11,the round shafts 152 are constituted by shafts that extend in thecircumferential direction, whereby the filter 56 can be tilted withreference to the round shafts 152.

As shown in FIG. 12, since the round shafts 152 are provided at upperportions of the ear pieces 146, it is possible to move the filter 56,the outlet 56 b and the attachment 142 to appropriately high positionsin their expanded state. Further, when the assembly is placed on a tablesurface, such members exert only their own weights on the BC pooling bag54, and excessive pressure is not exerted on the BC pooling bag 54.

As shown in FIG. 13, the attachment 142 has a support plate 158, whichmakes contact with and thereby supports one side surface in thelongitudinal direction as well as the half upper portion and the halflower portion of the filter holder 104, a hinge turning section 160having a semicircular arc-like sectional shape that engages with theround shafts 152, and an arm 162 connecting an end portion of thesupport plate 158 and the hinge turning section 160. The arm 162includes a quadrilateral hole 164, in which the projection 150 is snuglyinserted, and left and right reinforcement plates 166.

The support plate 158 includes a pair of filter holding projections 168provided on the inside surface so as to hold both surfaces of the filter56, tube holding projections 170 provided on the outside surface so asto hold the first tube 60 at three positions, a first semicircular notchportion (first fitting portion) 172 provided at an upper tip portion forfitting of the inlet 56 a therein, and a second semicircular notchportion (second fitting portion) 174 provided at a lower base endportion for fitting of the outlet 56 b therein. In a bent condition, thefirst semicircular notch portion 172 is disposed on the outer diameterside relative to the second semicircular notch portion 174.

When the attachment 142 is fitted to the hinge section 140, the hingeturning section 160 with the arm 162 directed downward is fitted overthe round shafts 152 from a lateral side, and thereafter, the attachment142 is pushed down by exerting some force thereon, while permitting thearm 162 to ride over the upper stoppers 154. Thus, the attachment 142 iseasily mounted in position.

Incidentally, the hinge section 140 is not limited to a shaft-likeconfiguration based on the round shafts 152. For example, aconfiguration may also be adopted in which a thin section or an elasticsection is bent.

A tube engaging section 144 is provided at a portion adjacent to thehinge section 140 of the arch section 102, for thereby holding thesecond tube 62 in an appropriate orientation.

According to the filter holder 104, the filter 56 can be stably held bythe attachment 142, and the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 can beappropriately held by the tube holding projections 170 and the tubeengaging section 144.

In addition, when the hinge turning section 160 is turnably supported onthe round shafts 152, the attachment 142 and the filter 56 can be tiltedinto various states, inclusive of an expanded state (see FIG. 7) inwhich the attachment 142 and the filter 56 are parallel to andsubstantially in the same plane as the cassette 50 a, and a bent state(see FIG. 8) in which the attachment 142 and the filter 56 are bent atan angle of 90° relative to the cassette 50 a.

In the expanded (spread) state in which the attachment 142 and thefilter 56 are substantially in the same plane as the cassette 50 a,further turning thereof is prevented by the upper stoppers 154. Sincethe upper stoppers 154 are sufficiently small, however, the attachment142 and the filter 56 may be turned beyond the upper stoppers 154, ifnecessary, by exerting an appropriate force thereon.

In the condition where the attachment 142 and the filter 56 are bent at90° relative to the cassette 50 a, a side surface of the arm 162 makessurface contact with the vertical wall 148, whereby assured angularpositioning is achieved. In this instance, the projection 150 isinserted into the quadrilateral hole 164, whereby stability of theattachment 142 is enhanced. In addition, when an operation is performedto bend the attachment 142, both side portions of the attachment 142ride over the ride-over projections 156, and an appropriate clickfeeling is obtained. Therefore, the operator can recognize that theattachment 142 has been set at an appropriate angle.

The tip of the projection 150 may be enlarged in diametral size, so thata more assured click feeling is produced when the projection 150 isinserted into the quadrilateral hole 164, and so that the projection 150is prevented from slipping off.

According to the aforementioned filter holder 104, at times of storageand transportation of the blood bag system 10 a and the like, by placingthe attachment 142 and the filter 56 in an expanded state substantiallyin the same plane as the cassette 50 a, the assembly is madesufficiently thin. Accordingly, the assembly can be placed in a vinylresin bag or the like, together with (for example, in a state of beingstacked with) the BC pooling bag 54 and the platelet preserving bag 58.Although such a packed-in-bag state is not shown in the drawings, it isapparent from FIG. 4 that the blood bag system 10 a can be contained ina folded state within a vinyl resin bag, which is slightly larger thanthe platelet preserving bag 58 that makes up the largest of thecomponent parts in area.

Further, when buffy coats are introduced into the BC pooling bag 54 froma required number of BC bags 72, by placing the attachment 142 and thefilter 56 in an expanded state substantially in the same plane as thecassette 50 a, it is ensured that the system does not expand uselessly,and the system can be easily hung from a girdle stand.

On the other hand, it is preferable for the filter 56 to bepreliminarily regulated in orientation when placed in use. Specifically,in order for white blood cells to be removed by the filter 56, the flowdirection is set such that the blood component is supplied through theinlet 56 a and is guided out through the outlet 56 b.

According to the filter holder 104, when the blood bag system 10 a ismounted in the centrifugation and separation apparatus 11, the system isused in a condition where the attachment 142 and the filter 56 are bentat 90relative to the cassette 50 a. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, thefilter 56 is held such that the outlet 56 b is on a proximal siderelative to the hinge section 140, whereas the inlet 56 a is on a distalside relative to the hinge section 140. Thus, the filter 56 is used in acondition where the flow direction is oriented against the centrifugalforce. As a result, the supernatant liquid 176 (see FIG. 14) flowsagainst the centrifugal force into the filter 56, whereby the flowvelocity is suppressed appropriately, and white blood cells can beremoved assuredly.

In addition, since the inlet 56 a is located below and on the outerdiameter side in relation to the outlet 56 b, the supernatant liquid 176(see FIG. 14) having flowed in through the inlet 56 a initially collectsin a lower portion of the interior of the filter 56, on the outer sideof a filter medium 57 (see FIG. 14) disposed in the filter 56, andspreads in the lumen of the filter 56 along an outer diameter sidesurface while the centrifugal force acts thereon. After the space on theouter side of the filter medium 57 is filled, the supernatant liquid 176(see FIG. 14) is filtered while passing through the filter medium 57 andis discharged through the outlet 56 b. Therefore, the supernatant liquid176 (see FIG. 14) is filtered while effectively utilizing the entiresurface of the filter medium 57 inside the filter 56. Accordingly, whiteblood cells can be removed more assuredly.

Furthermore, at the time of assembling the filter holder 104, theorientation of the filter 56 is determined by the first semicircularnotch portion 172, in which the inlet 56 a is fitted, and the secondsemicircular notch portion 174, in which the outlet 56 b is fitted,whereby misassembly can be prevented from occurring.

Next, a method of using the blood bag system 10 a and the cassette 50 aaccording to the first embodiment configured in the foregoing mannerwill be described below.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, the clamp 84 on the third tube 70, the firstclamp section 106 and the second clamp section 108 are closed. Arequired number of BC bags 72 are connected to the branched tube 74, andthe container 68 for the platelet preserving liquid is connected to thethird tube 70. Buffy coats (or whole blood) collected from differentdonors are reserved in the BC bags 72, respectively. Then, the buffycoats are collected from the BC bags 72 into the BC pooling bag 54.

Next, on the third tube 70, the clamp 82 is closed whereas the clamp 84is opened, whereby the platelet preserving liquid is transferred intothe BC bags 72, and the platelet preserving liquid is mixed into thebuffy coats remaining in the BC bags 72.

Further, the clamp 84 is closed and the clamp 82 is opened, whereby thebuffy coats mixed together with the platelet preserving liquid aretransferred into the BC pooling bag 54.

The BC pooling bag 54 is pressed by hand, whereby the air inside the BCpooling bag 54 is transferred into the BC bags 72.

Then, the third tube 70 is cut, after being fused and sealed in ananti-leaking manner, at a position near the BC pooling bag 54. Theremaining portion forms a short third tube 70 a, as shown in FIG. 7, andthe third tube 70 a is fixed in the auxiliary fixing section 116 so thatthe tip thereof is oriented in the centrifugal direction. The third tube70 a may be cut shorter than that shown in FIG. 7.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8, the attachment 142 and the filter 56are bent at 90° relative to the cassette 50 a. The filter holder 104acts to accurately and stably hold the attachment 142 and the filter 56in a state of being bent at 90°. Since, as mentioned above, the inlet 56a is located below and on the outer diameter side in relation to theoutlet 56 b when the attachment 142 and the filter 56 are bent at 90°relative to the cassette 50 a, the flow velocity is suppressed and theentire surface of the filter medium 57 inside the filter 56 iseffectively utilized.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the blood bag system 10 a is mounted inthe insert unit 18. Specifically, the cassette 50 a is mounted in thecassette holder 38 and held by the holder projections 45, the BC poolingbag 54 is inserted into the small chamber 30, the filter 56 and thefilter holder 104 are inserted into the filter pocket 36, and theplatelet preserving bag 58 and the sampling bag 76 are inserted into thelarge chamber 32. Incidentally, since the filter 56 is maintained quitestably in a state of being bent at 90° by the filter holder 104, aconfiguration in which the filter pocket 36 is omitted, and the filter56 and the filter holder 104 are kept in the large chamber 32, may alsobe adopted, depending on design conditions.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the first tube 60 and the second tube62 are properly arranged in the sensor hole 110. Therefore, the firsttube 60 is appropriately clamped between the light emitting section 40 aand the light receiving section 40 b of the first sensor 46, whereas thesecond tube 62 is appropriately clamped between the light emittingsection 42 a and the light receiving section 42 b of the second sensor42. Naturally, the first tube 60 is not arranged at a detection positionof the second sensor 42, and the second tube 62 is not arranged at adetection position of the first sensor 40.

The arch section 102 is stabilized by abutment and mounting thereof onthe upper end surface of the wall 34, so that the attachment 142 and thefilter 56 suspended from the arch section 102 also are made stable.

In addition, the BC pooling bag 54 is supported by the two pins 118,whereas the first tube 60 connected to the BC pooling bag 54 is fixedalong the first guide passage 112. Therefore, the first tube 60 isarranged and oriented in the inner diameter direction A2, as viewed fromthe BC pooling bag 54.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the insert unit 18, with the blood bag system10 a inserted therein, is inserted into the unit insertion hole 16 ofthe centrifugation and separation apparatus 11. As a result, an endportion of the cassette 50 a is fixed by the holding lever 25 (see FIG.2). In addition, the contacts of the first sensor 40 and the secondsensor 42, or interface circuits thereof, are placed in contact with theelectrodes 27 (see FIG. 2).

While six insert units 18, basically, are mounted in the centrifugationand separation apparatus 11, the number of insert units 18 may be fiveor less, so long as the insert units 18 are in balance (preferably,three or two at regular angular intervals).

When the insert unit 18 is inserted into the unit insertion hole 16, thefirst clamp section 106 and the second clamp section 108 are disposedproperly at corresponding positions facing the first clamp driving means17 a and the second clamp driving means 17 b (see FIG. 2), respectively.Since the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 are preliminarilyarranged properly by the first guide passage 112 and the second guidepassage 114 in relation to the first clamp section 106 and the secondclamp section 108, the first clamp section 106 and the second clampsection 108 can be properly closed and opened through the first clampsection 106 and the second clamp section 108 under actions of themicrocomputer.

Thus, in a series of operations by which the blood bag system 10 a andthe cassette 50 a are mounted, each of the tubes in the blood bag system10 a is preliminarily connected properly. Specifically, by means of thefirst guide passage 112 and the second guide passage 114 in the cassette50 a, the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 are disposed properly inrelation to the sensor hole 110, the first clamp section 106 and thesecond clamp section 108. Therefore, the operator does not requirespecial knowledge or understanding of operations and procedures forarranging the tubes, whereby the operator can easily and speedily carryout mounting of the blood bag system 10 a, without possibility ofmismounting. The first tube 60 and the second tube 62 are preliminarilyarranged properly within the cassette 50 a. In practice, therefore, theoperator will be able to mount the blood bag system 10 a in thecentrifugation and separation apparatus without referring to any manualsor the like.

Next, the cover 12 of the centrifugation and separation apparatus 11 isclosed, whereupon a centrifugation step and a separation step (atransfer step) are performed by operating the console section 22.

During an automatic operation of the centrifugation and separationapparatus 11, first, the centrifugal drum 14 is rotated to perform thecentrifugation step. In this case, the first clamp section 106 and thesecond clamp section 108 are preliminarily closed. For enhancingsecurity of operation, however, as shown in FIG. 10B, the first rod 136is extended initially so that the first clamp section 106 is placed in aflat state by the closing section 122. The second clamp section 108 alsois placed in a closed state in the same manner.

As shown in FIG. 14, during the centrifugation step, a centrifugal forceis imparted to the buffy coat reserved in the BC pooling bag 54 insidethe small chamber 30. As a result, the sedimentary liquid 178 containingheavy blood cell components and the like is moved in the direction ofthe outer diameter, whereas the supernatant liquid 176 containing lightplatelet components and the like is moved in the direction of the innerdiameter, whereby the liquids become separated from each other. Thesupernatant liquid 176 contains white blood cells. The sedimentaryliquid 178 is deep red in color and low in transparency, while thesupernatant liquid 176 is constituted by a somewhat yellow-whitetransparent matter.

The centrifugation and separation apparatus 11 shifts from thecentrifugation step to the separation step. During the separation step,while the centrifugal drum 14 continues to rotate, the second rod 138 isextended once as shown in FIG. 10C so as to tilt the latch section 124and release the engaged state, thereby returning the centrifugation andseparation apparatus 11 to the initial condition shown in FIG. 10A andplacing the first tube 60 in an open state. The second tube 62 also isplaced in an open state in the same manner.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the presser 20 is displaced in thecentrifugal direction A1 so as to press the BC pooling bag 54. Theinternal volume of the BC pooling bag 54 is reduced while being clampedbetween the presser 20 and the wall 34, whereby the liquid containedtherein is discharged through the first tube 60. In this instance, inthe interior of the BC pooling bag 54, the sedimentary liquid 178 iscollected in the direction of the outer diameter, while the supernatantliquid 176 is collected in the direction of the inner diameter.Meanwhile, the first tube 60 is oriented in the direction of the innerdiameter, so that only the supernatant liquid 176 is ejected into thefirst tube 60.

The supernatant liquid 176 that is ejected into the first tube 60 flowspast the location of the first clamp section 106, which is in an openstate, whereupon the white blood cells are removed therefrom by thefilter 56. In this instance, since the filter 56 is set so that theinlet 56 a is located below and on the outer diameter side relative tothe outlet 56 b, the supernatant liquid 176 flows in a directionresistant to gravity and centrifugal force. Therefore, the flow velocityof the supernatant liquid 176 is suppressed, and removal of white bloodcells can be achieved assuredly through effective utilization of theentire surface of the filter medium 57. The supernatant liquid 176having passed through the filter 56 flows past the location of thesecond clamp section 108, which is in an open state, and is suppliedinto and reserved within the platelet preserving bag 58.

It is desirable that the supernatant liquid 176 in the BC pooling bag 54be transferred into the platelet preserving bag 58 as completely aspossible. However, it is undesirable for the sedimentary liquid 178 tobe transferred into the platelet preserving bag 58. In view of this, theliquids that pass through the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 aremonitored by the first sensor 40 and the second sensor 42, and a controlis carried out in order to prevent the sedimentary liquid 178 from beingtransferred into the platelet preserving bag 58.

Specifically, the microcomputer monitors signals supplied thereto fromthe first sensor 40 and the second sensor 42, determines transparencyvalues of the liquids that pass through the first tube 60 and the secondtube 62 based on the magnitudes of the signals, and distinguishes thesupernatant liquid 176 and the sedimentary liquid 178 from each other bytheir respective transparencies.

When the BC pooling bag 54 is pressed by the presser 20 during theseparation step, the supernatant liquid 176 is guided out into the firsttube 60 at a beginning period, so it can be confirmed by the firstsensor 40 and the second sensor 42 that the supernatant liquid 176 isflowing therein due to the transparency of the liquid.

While the pressing of the RC pooling bag 54 by the presser 20 iscontinued, the supernatant liquid 176 in the BC pooling bag 54 flows outcompletely, and thereafter, the sedimentary liquid 178 is guided out. Asa result, at first, the first sensor 40 detects that the liquid flowingthrough the first tube 60 is changed into the sedimentary liquid 178. Atthis point in time, the separation step may be considered finished. Inorder to collect the platelets into the platelet preserving bag 58 asmuch as possible, however, it is desirable that portions of thesupernatant liquid 176, which remain in the first tube 60 and the secondtube 62, also are fed out into the platelet preserving bag 58. From thispoint of view, after the sedimentary liquid 178 has been detected by thefirst sensor 40, pressing by the presser 20 may be further continued fora predetermined period of time.

Next, upon elapse of a predetermined time period, or when it has beendetected by the second sensor 42 that the liquid flowing through thesecond tube 62 has changed into the sedimentary liquid 178, the firstrods 136 are extended (see FIG. 10B) in order to close the first clampsection 106 and the second clamp section 108, thereby placing the firsttube 60 and the second tube 62 in a closed state. Further, thecentrifugal drum 14 is stopped, whereupon the separation step isfinished.

Upon elapse of a predetermined period of time from detection of thesedimentary liquid 178 by the first sensor 40, the sedimentary liquid178 reaches the filter 56, and portions of the supernatant liquid 176which remain in the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 are fed outinto the platelet preserving bag 58 accordingly. Incidentally, beforethe predetermined time period has lapsed, basically, the sedimentaryliquid 178 will not reach the position of the second sensor 42 (namely,the position of the sensor hole 110). In order to prevent thesedimentary liquid 178 from mixing into the platelet preserving bag 58,however, monitoring thereof by the second sensor 42 is performed.

Immediately upon detection by the second sensor 42 of transfer of thesedimentary liquid 178 into the second tube 62, the first clamp section106 and the second clamp section 108 are simultaneously placed in aclosed state, so as to prevent the sedimentary liquid 178 from flowingfurther downstream. There is a slight time lag until the first clampsection 106 and the second clamp section 108 become fully closed afterdetection of the sedimentary liquid 178 by the second sensor 42. In thecourse of the second tube 62, however, the second clamp section 108 islocated on a downstream side relative to the position of the sensor hole110, where the second sensor 42 is provided. Therefore, the sedimentaryliquid 178 does not flow to the downstream side of the second clampsection 108. Even if the sedimentary liquid 178 flows past the positionof the second clamp section 108, the sedimentary liquid 178 will notreach the platelet preserving bag 58, because a certain distance isprovided between the position of the second clamp section 108 and theplatelet preserving bag 58.

When the separation step is finished, and the centrifugal drum 14 isstopped completely in this manner, the cover 12 is opened. The insertunits 18 are taken out by operating the holding levers 25, and the bloodbag systems 10 a are taken out by detaching the cover bodies 28. In thiscase, the cassette 50 a can easily be detached from the cassette holder38 simply by operating the detaching levers 44 (see FIG. 3).

Further, the first tube 60 in the blood bag system 10 a is cut afterbeing fused at a position near the BC pooling bag 54, whereby the BCpooling bag 54 serves as a blood product containing blood cellcomponents. On the other hand, when the second tube 62 is cut afterbeing fused at a position near the platelet preserving bag 58, theplatelet preserving bag 58 serves as a blood product containingplatelets. The blood product of the platelet preserving bag 58 permits aportion thereof to be transferred into the sampling bag 76, and to beserved to a predetermined test or the like.

According to the blood bag system 10 a and the cassette 50 a of thefirst embodiment, as mentioned above, the cassette 50 a has the firsttube 60 and the second tube 62 preliminarily arranged properly therein,so that it is sufficient simply to mount the cassette 50 a into thecentral body 14 a of the centrifugation and separation apparatus 11.Therefore, the need for intricate laying and arrangement of the firsttube 60 and the second tube 62 is eliminated, and mounting can becarried out easily and assuredly. In addition, the cassette 50 aincludes the first clamp section 106 and the second clamp section 108,which are disposed properly in relation to the first clamp driving means17 a and the second clamp driving means 17 b within the centrifugationand separation apparatus 11.

In addition, by the function of the hinge section 140, which is tiltablewith reference to an axis in the circumferential direction (thedirection of arrow B), the attachment 142 and the filter 56 can be setin different appropriate orientations, respectively, at a time ofstorage and at a time of use.

In the blood bag system 10 a, in the expanded state (see FIG. 7), thecassette 50 a, the plate section 100 and the arch section 102 aredisposed in parallel, so that they can be made sufficiently thin duringstorage and can be folded into a thin form together with the BC poolingbag 54, the platelet preserving bag 58, and the like. Further, in thebent state (see FIG. 8), the filter 56 can be disposed in an appropriateorientation bent at 90°, while the first tube 60 and the second tube 62,which are mounted to the plate section 100, are kept in a horizontalstate.

Since the attachment 142 supports the filter 56 in such a manner thatthe outlet 56 b is on a proximal side with respect to the hinge section140, whereas the inlet 56 a is on a distal side with respect to thehinge section 140, in the bent state, it is possible to set the inlet 56a on the lower side and the outlet 56 b on the upper side.

Since the attachment 142 supports the inlet 56 a on the outer diameterside and the outlet 56 b on the inner diameter side in the bent state,the filter 56 can be used in a proper orientation.

Since the arch section 102 is provided on the outer diameter siderelative to the plate section 100 and forms the bag hole 105, in whichthe BC pooling bag 54 is inserted, it is possible to arrange theattachment 142 and the filter 56 on the outer diameter side, and toarrange the BC pooling bag 54 on the inner diameter side. In thecentrifugation and separation apparatus 11, the BC pooling bag 54 ispressed by the presser 20 during the separation step, which takes placeafter the centrifugation step. In view of this, it is preferable for theBC pooling bag 54 to be on the inner diameter side, as mentionedpreviously.

Furthermore, since the arch section 102 is shaped along the upper endsurface of the wall 34, there is no needless ruggedness in relation tothe wall 34, and the attachment 142 and the filter 56 can be disposeddirectly on the outside of the wall 34, so that effective utilization ofspace is realized. In addition, by being mounted on the upper surface ofthe wall 34, the arch section 102 is made more stable.

The cassette 50 a is fixed to the centrifugation and separationapparatus 11 such that the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 arepartially set horizontally and oriented in the radial direction, and sothat the blood components inside the tubes flow in the direction of theinner diameter. In these parts, the blood components flow againstcentrifugal force, so that their flow velocities thereof can beprevented from increasing excessively.

The blood bag system 10 a and the cassette 50 a are inexpensiveconfigurations, which are suitable for disposable use.

Assembly, packaging and a sterilizing treatment of the blood bag system10 a are performed under a predetermined quality control by themanufacturer. The blood bag system 10 a is assembled by a predeterminedautomatic machine, or is assembled manually by use of predeterminedassembly jigs. Further, tests are preliminarily conducted bypredetermined automatic testers, whereby an assured arrangement can beachieved.

Next, a blood bag system 10 b and a cassette 50 b according to a secondembodiment will be described below. Components of the blood bag system10 b (and 10 c) and the cassette 50 b (and 50 c), which are the same asthose of the above-described blood bag system 10 a and cassette 50 a,are denoted by the same reference characters used above, and detaileddescriptions of such features are omitted.

The blood bag system 10 b includes the cassette 50 b and a multiple bag52. The multiple bag 52 is basically the same as that used in the bloodbag system 10 a, except that a first tube 60 and a second tube 62 areprovided together with a first clamp 200 and a second clamp 202.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, in place of the above-described first clampsection 106 and second clamp section 108 (see FIG. 4), the blood bagsystem 10 b has the first clamp 200 and the second clamp 202, as well asa first clamp operating section 204 and a second clamp operating section206, for operating and placing the first clamp 200 and the second clamp202 in closed and open states.

The first clamp 200 and the second clamp 202 make up means for closingand opening intermediate portions of the first tube 60 and the secondtube 62, similar to the above-described first clamp section 106 andsecond clamp section 108.

As shown in FIG. 17, the first clamp 200 is a resin body provided at oneend thereof with a latch section 200 a, which is short and bent back ina J-shape, and provided at the other end thereof with a closing section(pressing section) 200 b, which is somewhat longer and bent back in aU-shape. The first clamp 200 further is provided at an inside surfacethereof with a projection 200 c, and at both ends thereof with holes inwhich to insert the first tube 60. The projection 200 c is located at aposition slightly deviated from the center, and has a hole 200 ftherein. In an initial state, the closing section 200 b is opened to anappropriate degree.

The latch section 200 a, the closing section 200 b and the projection220 c correspond respectively to the latch section 124, the closingsection 122 and the projection 126 described above (see FIG. 10A). Morespecifically, when the closing section 200 b is pushed in toward theinner side, the first tube 60 can be closed by a bulge portion 200 d onthe inside of the closing section 200 b and the projection 200 c, whilethe closing section 200 b is held by the latch section 200 a.

When an inclined surface 200 e at the tip of the latch section 200 a ispushed toward a lateral side (or if the inclined surface 200 e is pushedby a rod or the like from a lateral side) and the latch section 200 a isthereby tilted toward the lateral side, the closing section 200 b isreleased from an engaged state and returns to its original position,thereby opening the first tube 60.

The second clamp 202 has the same structure as the first clamp 200. Asfor the first clamp 200 and the second clamp 202, the same structures asin the above-mentioned clamp 82, 84, 86, 88 can be used.

The first clamp operating section 204 in the cassette 50 b includes afirst pressing section 208 for pushing in the closing section 200 b byoperation of a first rod 136, and a second pressing section 210 thatslides on an inclined surface 200 e by operation of a second rod 138, soas to tilt the latch section 200 a toward a lateral side. The firstpressing section 208 and the second pressing section 210 are thinned inthe vicinity of base end portions thereof so as to have elasticity, andthe first pressing section 208 and the second pressing section 210 canbe elastically displaced substantially in the radial direction underoperations of the first rod 136 and the second rod 138. End faces, on aninner diametrical side of the first pressing section 208 and the secondpressing section 210, are formed as outside flat surfaces 208 a and 210a substantially along the circumferential direction, so that such endfaces are stably pressed by the first rod 136 and the second rod 138.

The first pressing section 208 is provided with an inside flat surface208 b substantially along the circumferential direction, so as to becapable of easily pressing an inner diameter side portion of a tipportion of the closing section 200 b. The second pressing section 210 isprovided with an inclined surface 210 b, which is suitable for slidingalong the inclined surface 200 e of the latch section 200 a.

The first clamp operating section 204 is provided with a clamp space 212in which the first clamp 200 is held, while leaving a small gap. Theclamp space 212 is shaped such that the first clamp 200 cannot bemounted therein in an erroneously deviated position, or in a reverseorientation. Specifically, the clamp space 212 is provided with aprojection (columnar section) 201 that is inserted into the hole 200 f,whereby positioning of the first clamp 200 is achieved. Since theprojection 200 c and the hole 200 f are each located at a positionslightly deviated from the center, there is no possibility of the firstclamp 200 being mounted in a reverse orientation. Within the clamp space212, a gap is secured, which permits the latch section 200 a to betilted toward a lateral side.

The second clamp operating section 206 is symmetrical in shape with thefirst clamp operating section 204. The first clamp operating section 204and the second clamp operating section 206 can be operated respectivelyby the first clamp driving means 17 a and the second clamp driving means17 b (see FIG. 2), and can be operated manually when the blood bagsystem 10 b is not mounted within the centrifugation and separationapparatus 11.

A first guide passage 112 and a second guide passage 114 in the cassette50 b of the blood bag system 10 b are shorter than those in theabove-described blood bag system 10 a. The first guide passage 112 andthe second guide passage 114 are formed so as to extend through upperportions of a sensor hole 110, to thereby guide the first tube 60 in afirst circumferential direction B1, and the second tube 62 in a secondcircumferential direction B2.

In the blood bag system 10 b and the cassette 50 b configured asdescribed above, the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 arepreliminarily arranged properly, similar to the above-described bloodbag system 10 a and cassette 50 a. Therefore, it is sufficient for thecassette 50 b to be mounted within the central body 14 a of thecentrifugation and separation apparatus 11, and the need for intricatelaying and arrangement of the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 iseliminated, so that mounting thereof can be carried out easily andassuredly. In addition, the cassette 50 b includes the first clamp 200,the second clamp 202, the first clamp operating section 204, and thesecond clamp operating section 206, with such components being arrangedproperly in relation to the first clamp driving means 17 a and thesecond clamp driving means 17 b (see FIG. 2) of the centrifugation andseparation apparatus 11.

In the blood bag system 10 b and the cassette 50 b, conventionally usedgeneral-purpose clamp can be applied to the first clamp 200 and thesecond clamp 202 arranged, so that the operator can easily comprehendthe clamping means during manual operation thereof. Further, in the casewhere the multiple bag 52 must be detached from the cassette 50 b forsome reason, the first tube 60 and the second tube 62 can be kept closedby the first clamp 200 and the second clamp 202.

As shown in FIG. 18, a blood bag system 10 c and a cassette 50 caccording to a third embodiment have respective configurations, whichare obtained by omitting the first clamp operating section 204 and thesecond clamp operating section 206 from the above-described blood bagsystem 10 b and cassette 50 b. In this case, it is recommended thatfirst rods 136 and second rods 138 have advancing and retracting amountsand tip shapes specified in conformity with the closing section 200 band the latch section 200 a of the first clamp 200 and the second clamp202, and that the first rods 136 and second rods 138 are driven directlyby a first clamp driving means 17 a and a second clamp driving means 17b.

The blood bag systems 10 a to 10 c and the cassettes 50 a to 50 c areapplicable not only to a centrifugation and separation apparatus 11, butalso to a blood component collection apparatus, a whole blood collectionapparatus, an automatic blood separation apparatus, etc. The liquidreserved in the BC pooling bag 54 is not limited to a buffy coat, anddepending on the use thereof, whole blood (contained liquid) mayreserved therein.

The blood bag system and the cassette according to the present inventionare not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is a matterof course that various configurations could be adopted without deviatingfrom the essence and gist of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A blood bag system comprising: a first bagfor reserving whole blood or a blood component; a filter having a filtermedium for removing predetermined cells from a blood component obtainedby centrifugation of the liquid contained in the first bag; a second bagfor reserving a blood component obtained upon removal of thepredetermined cells by the filter; a first tube for connecting the firstbag and an inlet of the filter; a second tube for connecting the secondbag and an outlet of the filter; a cassette having a plate section forholding a part of the first tube and a part of the second tube, whereinthe cassette includes an attachment directly contacting and holding thefilter, the cassette also including a hinge section by which theattachment is connected to the plate section in a tiltable manner. 2.The blood bag system according to claim 1, wherein the hinge section istiltable so as to assume various states, inclusive of an expanded statein which the attachment or the filter is located substantially in thesame plane as the plate section, and a bent state in which theattachment or the filter is tilted substantially perpendicular to theplate section.
 3. The blood bag system according to claim 2, wherein thehinge section has a stopper by which the tilting angle of the attachmentor the filter relative to the plate section is restricted substantiallyto a right angle.
 4. The blood bag system according to claim 2, whereinthe filter has a plate-like shape having a first surface and a secondsurface on an opposite side, and is provided with an inlet on the firstsurface side at one end thereof and an outlet on the second surface sideat the other end thereof, and the attachment holds the filter such that,in the bent state, the inlet is located on an outer side and the outletis located on an inner side.
 5. The blood bag system according to claim2, wherein the attachment has a first fitting portion in which the inletof the filter is fitted, and a second fitting portion in which theoutlet of the filter is fitted, and in the bent state, the first fittingportion is located on an outer side relative to the second fittingportion.
 6. The blood bag system according to claim 1, wherein theattachment holds the filter such that the outlet of the filter is on aproximal side relative to the hinge portion, whereas the inlet of thefilter is on a distal side relative to the hinge portion.
 7. The bloodbag system according to claim 1, wherein the cassette includes an archsection for forming a bag hole in which the first bag is inserted, onthe outer side relative to the plate section, and the hinge section isdisposed at the arch section.
 8. The blood bag system according to claim1, wherein whole blood or a blood component collected from a pluralityof donors is reserved in the first bag, and wherein the blood bag systemis mounted in a centrifugation and separation apparatus for centrifugingthe liquid contained in the first bag into a supernatant liquid and asedimentary liquid, removing a predetermined component from thesupernatant liquid by the filter, and transferring the supernatantliquid, deprived of the predetermined component, into the second bag. 9.The blood bag system according to claim 8, wherein the centrifugationand separation apparatus includes a first sensor and a second sensor,each of which has a light emitting section and a light receivingsection, and which detect the kind of liquid passing between the lightemitting section and the light receiving section, the cassette has asensor hole in which the first sensor and the second sensor areinserted, and the first tube is located so as to pass between the lightemitting section and the light receiving section of the first sensor,whereas the second tube is located so as to pass between the lightemitting section and the light receiving section of the second sensor.10. A cassette mounted to a multiple bag comprising: a first bag forreserving whole blood or a blood component; a filter having a filtermedium for removing predetermined cells from a blood component obtainedby centrifugation of the liquid contained in the first bag; a second bagfor reserving a blood component obtained upon removal of thepredetermined cells by the filter; a first tube connecting the first bagand an inlet of the filter; a second tube connecting the second bag andan outlet of the filter; wherein the cassette includes a first guidepassage in which is positioned a part of the first tube so that the partof the first tube is held in the first guide passage and a second guidepassage in which is positioned a part of the second tube so that thepart of the second tube is held in the second guide passage, thecassette also including an attachment holding the filter, and a hingesection by which the attachment is connected to the plate section in atiltable manner.
 11. A blood bag system comprising: a first bag forreserving whole blood or a blood component; a filter having a filtermedium for removing predetermined cells from a blood component obtainedby centrifugation of the whole blood or a blood component contained inthe first bag; a second bag for reserving a blood component obtainedupon removal of the predetermined cells by the filter; a first tubeconnecting the first bag to an inlet of the filter; a second tubeconnecting the second bag to an outlet of the filter; a cassettecomprised of a plate section, an attachment and a hinge section; theplate section including a first guide passage in which is positioned aportion of the first tube so that the portion of the first tube is heldin the first guide passage and a second guide passage in which ispositioned a portion of the second tube so that the portion of thesecond tube is held in the second guide passage; the attachment at leastpartially surrounding the filter and directly contacting the filter,with the filter being held by the attachment; and the hinge sectionconnecting the attachment to the plate section in a tiltable mannerpermitting the attachment and the held filter to be tilted relative tothe plate section.